Seeing Sparks
by Shippo31001
Summary: Zuko and Katara realize there are sparks between them that simply won't go away. How can they deal with it when the war is still going on and more problems than that are in the air? Read and find out! Horrid summary, better story I hope. (Note, there was a slight mix-up in documents that is resolved now! Sorry for the inconvenience folks! XD)
1. Chapter 1

Note: So I realize I'm a little late on this fan pairing, BUT! I love it. This story was actually started last year. At the end of the school year, we had to take that big giant test that every state has a different name for and my project for when I finished was writing. Thus, this Zutara fanfic was conceived. This won't be too long, I promise! If you desire smut/lemons/ that kind of thing, you'll have to request it. It's rated M just in case because, as you read this, you'll see it's a little graphic.

Disclaimer: NO! I do not own the characters. My dreams are crushed every time I make one of those statements.

Katara sat on the beach, watching the waves crash down on the shore. Her dark skin glistened with tiny water sparkles as she breathed raggedly. Training was always made more difficult in the hot sun. She closed her eyes and sighed. It had been so long since any excitement had aroused. Everything was so… clam.

She frowned to herself. It wasn't like the world around her to be calm. Katara, loving and nurturing, found herself missing the adrenaline rush of the fight and the war wasn't even over! The young bender opened her cerulean blue eyes and looked up at the sun. "Why must you be so…" She couldn't think of the word that was on the tip of her tongue and grew annoyed.

"-Hot?" Another voice asked. Katara looked around and found that she wasn't alone anymore. "I was going to say over-bearing, but hot works too."

She sat up, feeling slightly embarrassed to be in only her undergarments at the moment. Zuko shook his head and chuckled softly, "I was asking if you were hot."

Katara gave a nod, "The sun light's pretty heavy today." Turning her gaze back to the mass of water before her, she asked, "So what bring you out here?"

He sat in the sand and dusted off his hands. "I had to get away from everyone. I need to clear my mind."

Katara growled at the sun that got in her eyes as she attempted to look at him once again. "Gr! I wish the sun would just extinguish itself!"

Zuko smirked, "So you want me to lose my bending again?"

She shrugged, "Then we wouldn't be in the middle of a war."

Zuko gave a pained expression and picked up a rock, throwing it into the waves. "And we wouldn't be sitting here, having this conversation."

She shielded her eyes and looked at him as if she had said something wrong, "I didn't mean to offend! I'm just saying that it's hot out and even the water isn't soothing! I actually think I'm beginning to burn."

He looked over her bare shoulders. Why would it even matter if she were burnt? The pain would do no more than hide behind her beautiful dark skin. And sunburn isn't as bad as a fire burn, right? She felt herself blush under Zuko's scrutinizing gaze. "Couldn't you just heal yourself?" He finally asked, looking away.

"I guess I could." Zuko stole a glance at her still punk cheeks. A large gust of wind blew and sent her brown locks reeling back so he could see her smooth neck. He cast his eyes away once more and they sat in an awkward silence.

"So what did you need to think about?" Katara asked.

Zuko looked at the waves and suddenly envied their freedom. They sloshed happily, back and forth, crashing down on the wet sand. "Nothing." He muttered.

"I'm always around if you ever need to… yaknow… talk or something." She wasn't sure why she'd said it, but now it was in the air. She guessed it was due to her motherly nature. Looking at him now, however, she didn't feel motherly at all… He placed his hand over hers and gave it a soft squeeze, "Thanks."

She smiled one of her usually polite smiles, "No problem." And with that she stood and brushed off the back of her legs. "I'm going to swim." She announced before running into the waves. She dived down once she was waist deep.

Zuko watched as her underclothing hugged her body tightly. Her curves seemed even more defined as he watched her rise from the water. He stared in wonder as she caused the water to rise well over her head and freeze, making an igloo shaped dome. She smiled and motioned him near.

He raised his good brow and stood up. Zuko pulled his shirt off and left it on the beach, leisurely strolling to join Katara in her ice dome. She waited for him to get under it before speaking. "It feels much better in here. I haven't felt this cool since we visited the North Pole."

Zuko remembered that very well. Her bending had been at its peak. She had seemed so in control. Half of his attention was on fighting her, the other half was on watching the way she controlled the water with such finesse. He leaned his back against the ice and sighed. He had to admit, it did feel nice. "It feels good to just catch your breath for a little while." He muttered. "To not have my crazy sister or someone else after us. I really never stopped to look at the world like this." He announced, looking at the island with amusement as the ice created a fun-house mirror effect. "It all looks so…"

"-Delicate?" She offered. His gaze was turned on her and he nodded, "Yeah." He looked back up, "It's amazing that water benders can control ice too."

She sunk down so that her shoulders and head were all that was visible above water. "I remember seeing your sister bend lightening for the first time. For just a second, I wished I was a fire bender."

He nodded and chuckled, "I'm a little jealous of her myself. The only lightening bending I can do is redirecting it."

Katara leaned her head to the side, "You're ahead of me. I don't even know that."

Zuko gave a shrug, "Fire benders don't even take credit. My uncle invented it by studying the water benders." He looked at her to see she was watching him in awe. "I could… teach you the technique if you want. Maybe it actually does something with the water."

Katara pushed herself up and ran her fingers over the ice at her back. It was beginning to melt, much to her dismay. She nodded and swam over to the fire bender. He nodded to her and half smiled. "Put your arms up like this." He said.

She mimicked his movements. Zuko's brows drew together. "Your form is too water bender. Think of yourself as a fire bender."

She looked clueless, so he slid behind her and positioned her arms. "Like this." He said softly. She nodded. "The point is to let the lightening flow through your body and then push it back out."

Katara could feel his breath against her wet shoulder. His heat radiated enough to strike her back, even if they weren't connected. He began to move her hands through the motion. "You want it to flow… like a river."

Feeling ready to try the motion on her own, she pulled back to free her hands but only succeeded in pressing her back flat against Zuko's bare chest. She exhaled sharply at the feeling of his body heating her every pore. He walked her through the motions again slowly, then slowly ran his palms up her arms and down her sides, resting them on her hips. Carefully he pushed her feet apart with one of his. "You have to make sure your stance wide enough for the electrical current."

Goosebumps seized her arms as she could feel his grip on her hips. She went through the motions on her own and cringed as the ice dome fell nearly silently back into the water. Warmth caressed her all over as the sun beat down on her once again. "Like this?" She asked quietly as she ran through them again.

Zuko watched from over her shoulder as droplets of water slowly slid out of her hair, down her shoulders, and into the valley between her breasts, under her wrappings. His breath caressed her cheek as he whispered to her, "Perfect." He felt the shiver that was sent through her body at his actions. She felt his hands slipping down to her thighs and back to her hips, warming her. "You're perfect, Katara." He whispered, gently placing his lips on her shoulder.

Katara was paralyzed. Her mind was silently at war. On one hand, Aang held a romantic interest in her and it would be wrong to simply dismiss it, so she should push Zuko away. On the other hand, he was sending tiny tendrils of warmth and tingles wherever he touched. He was older and seemed to be a little more experienced than Aang and was displaying his own interests. It would also be wrong to dismiss his without a second thought. She had no idea what to do!

She felt his lips on her shoulder again and shivered, only this time she arched her back on impulse, making her chest lean out and pressing her lower half against the fire bender behind her.

Zuko smirked just slightly. He suddenly began to wonder what other reactions he could solicit from this water goddess before him. He moved his hands agonizingly slowly, up her thighs and up to her deliciously curvy hips, crossing the flat of her stomach. His fingertips rimmed the waistband of her clothing. Katara raised her hand to his. His palms were hot against her wet skin and it felt nice. A small breeze wisped through the air and chilled the couple –more so Katara. She folded her arms across her breast. Zuko arms suddenly wrapped round her belly and pulled her against him harder. She could feel the heat in his skin increasing and he could feel her heartbeat against his chest. "Zuko," She whimpered as one of his hands dropped back to her bare thigh. He rubbed from the inner side to the outer.

"Hmm?" He hummed. The way she purred his name was enough to send his mind into a frenzy but the way she reacted to his touch left him ready to explode. His other hand reached up to pull her hair over her left shoulder. His free hand slid down from her shoulder and between her breasts easily.

Feeling the excitement running through her, she pushed Zuko away and dove into the water, shouting, "IHAVETOGOBYE!" The way she said it made it all sound like one weirdly long word, but she didn't care.

Neither did Zuko as he followed her closely. "Katara –wait!" He called to her.

She tripped onto the beach, scraping her knees on some seashells without noticing. She rushed to her clothes and grabbed them up as Zuko exited the water.

He stood in front of her and watched her still pink cheeks, listening to her heavy breathing. Gods she was beautiful…

"I really have to-" Katara tried to push by him but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her close. His amber orbs bore into her own with such intensity that Katara found it impossible to look away. Before she was able to say anything else, Zuko brushed a small kiss against her lips. He released her wrists and stepped back, "Thank you, Katara."

Her face reddened to a lovely scarlet and she nodded before running away. Zuko found himself unable to take his eyes off the sweet sway of her hips as she ran. He also found himself desperately craving her company and attention. For a moment the young bender questioned just how far she and the avatar had gone... He realized after a moment that he'd balled up his fists at the thought of Aang's hands groping Katara. Were they really that close?

Zuko smirked to himself and picked his shirt up off the ground. People aren't property and Katara was a person –her own person, at that… for now.

And while she was still her own person, Zuko had time to win her heart.

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review :D!


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: My, isn't life hectic! I planned on updating every two weeks… That hope was dashed horribly as my NANOWRIMO adventure went horribly wrong. My computer crashed once more and deleted what I had been working on. I was actually working on the NANO novel, two fan fictions, and a work I would like to eventually publish so you can imagine my break down at this. None the less, my birthday is just around the bend and I thought "My readers, however few they may be, deserve a nice present." SO I give to you this update!**

Katara wiped the sweat from her brow as she leaned back against the wall of her room. What was he thinking? She looked up at the sun, moving to stand in the window. It was really hot outside… Had the entire thing just been a mirage caused by the heat?

She rubbed her shoulders and remembered the scene. At the memory of Zuko's lips on her skin, she shuddered and instantly knew it was no hallucination.

Then was it some kind of trap? While he had recently earned her trust, she would believe he'd pull something like that. By _that_, she meant Zuko making her fall in love with him and then kidnapping her –or worse, she dared not think on that note- to get back at Aang and redeem his "honor".

Zuko was indeed cunning and clever. Was all that just a ruse to get her guard down further? Or was he genuinely into her?

Katara's lip found itself trapped between two rows of white teeth as she speculated over her situation. She began to think about it in a logical fashion and list the facts she knew:

Zuko was originally the face of the enemy that haunted her dreams.

He had chased Aang all around the world.

He'd had her tied up by pirates and dangled her mother's necklace in her face, teasing.

Katara actually smirked, remembering the day. A thirteen year old girl tied to a tree by an attractive, muscular boy around her ago –the entire ordeal was kind of romantic when she thought about it in a different way. She smiled at the sound of him telling her, "I'll save you from the pirates." She shook her head and continued listing facts after a small recap of the three she'd listed.

His grandfather started the war.

His father was crazy.

His sister was sure-as-La crazy.

This caused her to wonder if the craziness skipped him for some strange reason.

His uncle traveled with him after his banishment.

Iroh was a nice man and more like a father figure to Zuko, in her opinion.

Zuko had betrayed her in the catacombs of old Ba Sing Se.

Zuko saved them from Combustion Man.

Zuko saved her personally from being flattened by falling rocks.

He had helped her track down her mother's killer and comforted her when she needed it.

When he'd touched her earlier, she liked it.

Katara was now stumped. He'd gone from the nightmare she feared to this friend she liked when he touched her. Was it because he was her opposite? Was that what the attraction was?

She sat on the window edge and wandered what he was doing_. 'I wonder if he's teaching Aang some new fire bending moves.'_ She thought.

Her thoughts trailed over to Aang. If Zuko was looking at her as more than a friend –and she lost her sanity , deciding to go with him- how would it hurt poor Aang? He was in love with her –he'd said so himself!

She pouted and thought, looking at the sky. Her gaze was caught when she moved her hand and glimpsed her reflection in the mirror on the wall. Standing, she went to look at herself. She hadn't dressed properly, having run in and dropped her clothes to continue hyperventilating over the events. She smiled at herself in the mirror. For a poor water tribe girl, she thought she looked alright. Her long hair reached her hips. Her curves had filled out a lot since she had met Aang and left the south pole. She sighed. A lot had changed.

Sokka hadn't changed a lot, but his attitude had improved. He wasn't negative over everything they encountered, only when it called for it. The Kyoshi warriors may have had something to do with that. It was such a foreign idea for the warriors to be girls and when he accepted it, he learned to look at a few things differently.

Toph had grown up quite a lot as well. At first she was stuck up, demanding that she pull her own weight and her weight only. She eventually lightened up and began to care. She helped when they set up camps and even had taken an interest in her looks. She'd often ask Katara to help her prepare for the day and who was Katara to deny a blind girl help in washing her face properly?

She, herself, had simply grown up. She was no longer the scared child Zuko had first encountered in her village. She had developed a very headstrong attitude that sometimes lead her into trouble –but never so much that she couldn't get out with the help of her friends. Her body emphasized that she was a young woman now, not just a girl.

Zuko had even changed. On their first meeting, his was a brat looking for blood to be shed. Now he was acting as a peasant and trying to create peace. Katara also noticed that he was much thinner now. He'd had a little more muscle back in the snow… Had it just been the armor? When he'd attacked Aang for the first time, she was sure he had more muscle mass. Now he was lean, still a littly muscle, but not as much. He reminded her of some large black cat-like creature now with his shaggy long hair.

She sighed. Aang still seemed the same. He was under a little stress, but who wouldn't be if they had to take on the strongest man who had years of expirence in fighting when Aang was taught that violence was wrong. He was still carefree and happy when he could be, only serious when it was required. He'd added a few scars to his visage, but that was about it.

She frowned at herself. She returned to the thoughts of the war. Three things occurred to her. One: She's in the middle of a war! She didn't have time to stop and be part of some petty love triangle. Two: If Aang defeated the firelord, who would rule the fire nation? Obviously not Azula! But after her, who was next in line? That's right, the banished prince who helped the Avatar take down his father. Zuko would be the fire lord. Three: Once the war was over, she'd probably go back home and live her life as she always had –like a water tribe peasant. Her father would probably choose her husband if none called to court her.

She didn't have time to be in love with her future so dim. She cast her gaze from the mirror to her clothes. It was soon to be lunch time… She had to prepare the meals for the others. She bowed her head, dressed, and sadly continued her duties as a mother-figure to the gang.

Zuko simply plopped down on the fountain, settling himself into it. He needed something cool to wake him up because it had to be a dream. Katara was in his arms, yes. He'd kissed her, yes. Now he needed to wake up because Aang needed to learn fire bending. The only problem he found was… This wasn't a dream.

What the hell was he thinking? Why did he just kiss her like that? He covered his face with his arms. "What is wrong with me?" He asked himself.

Katara was a lady not a child. He should've asked her permission for something like that. He should have at least given her a warning. He needed to make this right –make an offering for peace, just in case this sparked bad blood between them.

He wondered what a girl like Katara liked…

He could always ask Toph… He thought better of that. Toph and Katara were two very different girls. Katara was sweet and gentle like fire lilies in a meadow. Toph was less ladylike and still a child in most senses. Katara, he wagered, was the type to like sappy poetry, romantic evenings, and flowers.

A groan tore from his throat. That was not Zuko's style. Zuko was the kind of guy who acted on impulse when it came to things like this. He was just kind of lost in the wind. The only girl he'd ever had a long relationship with was Mai and she was fine with him just being himself and bossing people around. He didn't like bossing his new friends around and he doubted Katara would like that either.

He remembered that being nice to her when she didn't trust him only got hostility. Now she trusted him… even allowed him close contact.

He wondered if she was thinking about him. More accurately, about their encounter in the water. It was definitely the best day of his life so far.

Not only was Katara a beautiful girl, she was strong and stubborn and passionate. If he had asked her to court when he first noticed her, she'd probably be on his arm. Seeing her all that time ago, surrounded by the snow with her hair up in such an adorable fashion with wide blue eyes…

But he had different priorities then. He thanks the gods he'd gotten over them.

Standing, Zuko shook off the main water content and shook out his shirt. He needed more than to think if he wanted to win Katara from the Avatar.

How was he going to do that?!

Aang and Katara seemed to very shy in their relationship –what of one there was. As far as Zuko knew, Aang was simply infatuated with her, but when Katara would blush around Aang or at what he said, Zuko knew Aang was attempting to get her.

At first Zuko ignored that feeling that made him gag whenever he saw Aang attempting to flirt with the lovely Katara. She was, in a sense, out of his league. Zuko, however, may have had a shot. He remembered when he had helped her hunt down that bastard who had killed her mother…

The tears in her eyes leaked down her cheeks when Yon Rah ran away and she was left wishing she had taken his life –wishing merely to feel his blood on her hands. Zuko knew these were her thoughts because she'd told him in her sleep.

They'd set up a small camp for the night, giving Appa a break from the rain. When all was settled, Zuko insisted on staying near Katara.

"I won't let you catch your death." That's what he'd told her. The rain had clearly soaked through her clothes enough to make her shiver and he could change his temperature. Eventually she'd cried herself to sleep, mumbling unintelligible things. She was dreaming about her mother, he could tell.

"_Mother, I'm sorry… I wanted no more than to avenge you… I was so weak when you needed me and I failed you again. I should have killed him for you. I should have pierced his flesh with ice and bent his blood so he would feel all of it… but I didn't. I'm sorry." _

Zuko had to wake her after hearing that. It chilled him to the bone to hear her usually nurturing voice so full of venom and hatred. She woke and screamed till she was exhausted. After that, Zuko hadheld her and told her she was strong. She was strong enough to let the Raider live with the knowledge that he ruined her childhood. Left him alive to suffer. She'd given him a second chance in Aang's eyes, but to Zuko she only prolonged his suffering. He held her in her sleep, barely getting any himself in case she needed him during the night –for anything! A story to take her mind off of things, a relit fire, literally anything.

He slipped on his shirt and smiled to himself. She trusted him with more than he thought… He could win her heart. All he had to do was open her eyes to how much she let her guard down around him. Once she saw that, she wouldn't find it so repulsive to be with him.


End file.
